Hi! I am hypo, and just restarted on Levo. I started the 5:2 3 weeks ago, lost 3 lbs right off, then switched up to 4:3, and really started watching what I eat on non fast days! In addition to the thyroid problem, I take other meds that tend to slow the metabolism, so I realized that I JUST PLAIN CAN’T EAT LIKE A NORMAL PERSON! Because my body is NOT normal any more!

The 2nd week, I didn’t do so well eating, therefore I only lost 1 lb, but last week, I lost another 3! I only have one day that I eat “normal”, like, things that are not good for me. I had to face the fact that, if I want to be healthy and a good weight, I have to be more disciplined. It isn’t always easy. Food has been my go-to for any situation in life. Now, I find other things, and try to take pride in the fact that I am losing, while everyone else around me is getting bigger (especially the men at work! You should see these bellies!)

You don’t have to go to extreme. Just try one day…just ONE DAY, and say, I am only going to eat 500 calories today, and then tomorrow I will eat a normal, healthy amount (you also need to figure out what that is. Your TDEE figure on this and other sites is a starting point, but in my opinion, they always seem way high) If you need help figuring it out, I can help you, as will others here.

Welcome, and enjoy!

Carla, as you know, it takes about 6 weeks for it to even start working! But I tell you what, I have been “dieting” (again!) since January, working out 3-4 times a week doing an hour of killer aerobics, and STILL never lost the weight! This plan (5:2) is the first thing that has worked! I think , and research has shown, that the thyroid is affected by things we eat, as well as general decline, hereditary, etc.

Now I realize that I have been eating way too much, and a lot of the wrong things. I started reading about Leptin also, and there are foods that you eat that can keep you from losing the weight! If I eat nuts, honey, bread (even wheat bread), etc, I pack it on or don’t lose at all. AS soon as I cut those, I drop like a rock. And I only do 15 minutes or so of HIIT exercise now.

There is so much that goes into losing weight, and I am surprised at how clueless I was. Hope you can find some success here!

i am planning to start tomorrow. I am also SO discouraged about my weight. I have been hypothyroid for years and take Levotyroxine. But now my labs have been off and my Dr. has been lowering my medication for a year. I am told now I have Hashimotos Disease. I have gained over 14 lbs in a year and at 5’1″ it is very noticeable. I hope this plan works.

Hi there!

I am also hypothyroid, and have been taking Levo for 2 years, did notice a bit of improvement in symptoms, but some are still here to stay, depression and sugar cravings. Have been doing this diet for 9 weeks, and have lost 8 Ibs. It is a fabulous accomplishment to finish a FD and I have noticed a subtle difference on NFD’s. I cut out wine before this diet, and for me wine is a huge trigger to eat to oblivion! so try to avoid it, or only a little glass at the weekend. My top tips are:

1) work out what is good for you on FD’s (Fast Days) there are many options, to have 3 meals and/or to divide meals up, it depends on what makes you happy and what works best, especially depends on the type of job you have.

2) expect some set backs, I’ve had some and eaten rubbish, but have got back on track, that is why this WOL (Way of Life) is so great!

3) Don’t depend to much on the scales, mine tend to tell me fairy tales, especially after heavy exercise, weigh yourself a couple of days after you’ve completed the 2 FD’s

4) I also cut back on Carbs like Finfast, so bread is out, never eat pasta also avoid “light” yoghurts etc in favour of Greek yoghurt. I am a vegetarian so do eat nuts, they seem to work for me 🙂

Happy fasting!

Also, I forgot to add, I also love how my food costs have gone down! You certainly eat less. Those of you who have done low carb or south beach know how expensive eating that way can be. But this is really liberating!

Hi all, I have Hashimoto’s. I don’t take levo, but instead liothyroxine, which is a T3 only medication. I’ve been practicing 5:2 for 5 weeks and my progress seems to be following the roughly pound a week shedding that others report as par for the course. For me adequate and correct type of medication feels to be a key to my success so far.

Hello! fellow Hashimoto’s sufferer here. Planning on incorporating 5:2 as off right now but not entirely new to fasting, anyway. I’ve done intermittent fasting for a while, eating in a short window, and total 24-48 hours water fasts. I feel better when I do them but I have a lot of additional healing to do. Not on any hormone therapy for the moment. Id really appreciate any tips, encouragement or sharing experience : ) A fasting buddy would be amazing too. Im based in London. A hug to all, and to your good health. Mery.

EmBlazes, that’s awesome!

I’m in my 3rd week of 5:2 and am feeling great on it. Lost quite a bit of weight in my first 2 weeks but after my last fast day, I hadn’t lost any. However, I also didn’t put it back on!
I don’t restrict myself on my “days off”, but I don’t go completely OTT either. Hope I’ll be able to keep on losing weight as this diet is the first thing that’s ever worked for me since I became hypothyroid.

Good luck everybody and keep reporting back! 🙂

Ah thanks, EmBlazes! 🙂 My weight went down again a bit after my last fast day, so it only stagnated after one fast day.
I totally agree, it’s a lifestyle choice you can live with and that’s what makes it so appealing and doable.
Been on the plan for 3 weeks now and the last fasting day was a doddle in comparison with the previous ones. No headache either at night or otherwise. I drink plenty of herbal tea during the day and plain water. Seems to be doing the trick.
I don’t exercise as such at present, but I have 2 dogs and usually take them for 2 walks a day. As I’ve recently moved to the coast, I normally walk them on the beach which is a pebble beach. I think walking on the beach can be classed as exercise as it’s much harder to walk on the pebbles than it would be walking on the pavement.
In any case, I’m so glad to be on this plan and I’m nearly looking forward to my next fast day.

Hi,
I’m new here and have a question. I’ve been dealing with hypothyroid symptoms for 3 years now, especially the unexplained weight gain and inability to lose. I’m a 38 year old female. I’ve now been on generic Synthroid for almost 10 weeks with no change in symptoms so far. I was wondering though for others with hypothyroid, if you are having success with IF, are you doing it just as explained — by eating the 500-600 on fasting days and essentially your TDEE on non-fasting? Does it matter that your slowed metabolism isn’t factored into that TDEE? Mathematically, it would seem to me, if we did the plan according to the calculators and it had an effect it would at the very least still be slower than non-hypo patients. Have you found this to be true? Thank you if you can share your experiences.

P.S. You can calculate the TDEE for your ideal weight, here at this link:

https://thefastdiet.co.uk/how-many-calories-on-a-non-fast-day/

Hi Hypogurl,

I understand it’s early days for you and your thyroid medication journey! I’ve been on various types and amounts of medication over the past 7 years since I was diagnosed with Hashimotos, so I understand!

That’s great that your doctor is testing you every 5 weeks! The only thing is that doctors usually test only for:

TSH

T4

While the above are important, T4 (which is what Synthroid is) is only a storage hormone. Our body then has to take that storage hormone and convert it into the active thyroid hormone T3. The thing is that we can have perfect T4 or storage hormone and be utterly challenged by converting it into the active T3, which is dependent on so many other things being in balance.

My point here is that stick to your guns with your symptoms. If the tests you are being given all say ‘normal’ and you still feel under par, that definitely means considering requesting your T3 be tested as well as something called ‘Reverse T3’.

Ideally we’d all get these tests:

TSH
T4
T3
Reverse T3

Iron panel test

The iron panel test is important because if we have inadequate levels of ferritin, which is our iron storage, we will not be able to convert that T4 into T3. Low ferritin is one of the main culprits in our inability to effectively utilize thyroid hormone replacement.

If you ever want to read a good book on the subject, one that explains all this in plain English and is fun to read, check out ‘Stop the Thyroid Madness’ by Janie Bowthorpe.

P.S. One more thing about ‘normal’ on the lab ranges. Labs calculate what is ‘normal’ by averaging the results of all the sick people who test with them. From my experience with the wide ranges on the thyroid labs, I have to feel like death warmed over before mine go out of that ‘normal’ range. That’s why I say ‘stick to your guns’ with regard to your symptoms. They often tell far more than lab tests. One simple way you can also test whether your medication is doing the job it should be is by taking your temperature. Healthy before-rising morning underarm basal temp should be between 97.8 – 98.2. Anything lower, indicates a hypothyroid state.

I’m writing this mainly because as a fellow thyroid patient, I believe we should not be at the mercy of being forced to remain in a hypothyroid state! That’s not what thyroid hormone replacement is supposed to look like. I’ve seen many struggle with weight loss, exasperated that seemingly nothing they did worked, only to find that their thyroid hormone was inadequately dosed and once that was corrected, they began to suddenly reap benefits for their efforts. I admit I get a soap box about this issue, but is just isn’t fair.

Hi everyone
I’m a newbie here. I’ve been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s and am taking Thyroxine. I’ve successfully dropped about 4 kilos on my own but have plateaued the last month. I exercise every day by walking at least 30 mins. I figured having some FD could be the way to go. Today is Day 1. Let’s see how I go!!

Hello – I’m a busy mature age student & have had low thyroid for decades (many people in my family do – don’t know if it’s genetic or lifestyle?). Doctors like to play around with my medication levels, and I pay the price in dry skin, falling-out hair, depression, lethargy, exhaustion and inability to concentrate (not a good look in a student – I’ve had to repeat subjects because of this, even though I am a good student & do well).
I still take my thyroid medications, but since I’ve discovered the 5:2, I’ve lost 15kgs (I think that’s about 33lbs) over the space of 10 months. I’ve really plateaued the last few months because of depression (& anxiety), but I have just this week bought a blender & am trying out the raw smoothie thing for breakfast. Even though I have a cold & feel reasonably horrible, I am noticing I have more energy (& green poo?). I’m using 3 leaves of kale, 1 silver beet leaf, apple/pear, orange, kiwi fruit, ginger as my basics & have also added in mint, banana & avocado on different days.
It is delicious, it is VERY filling, and I’m not feeling hungry, so perhaps this might work for some others too?
I’m due to do my blood tests for thyroid again in a month or two (I insist on doing them every 6 months because the side effects are so devastating & my mental status seems to affect my levels – a bit circular really!) so I’ll be interested to see if my doctor cuts my dose again.

Anyway – I hate fast days – I’m very bad at doing them (seriously bad…) & have sworn never to count a calorie again, but 5:2 seems to be doing the trick.
Good luck everyone!

Been on the 5:2 plan for 3 or 4 weeks, but went on hols for 5 days and ate a lot of the “wrong” things as you do on holidays.
I didn’t want to weigh myself after I came back and before my next fast day, but I don’t think I’ve put on any weight: With the fine weather over the last few days in Southern England, I’ve been wearing shorts and I managed to squeeze into 2 pairs of shorts that didn’t fit me at the beginning of the summer. Before I went on holidays, I had lost about 6.5kg.
I’ve been hypothyroid for 10 years+ and nothing else worked for me before, including weight training or aerobic exercise.
I’ll be carrying on with the 5:2 diet on Monday next and am looking forward to losing some more weight.

Hi I’ve been hypo for 10 years now and put on a massive amount of weight at the start. I tried so many times to lose weight without success and then on top came the menopause. I started the 5:2 in June and much to my surprise I’ve been loosing around half a Kilo a week. I’ve now lost 8.5kg despite going on holiday to America with their portion sizes lol. Yes my loss is slow, but it is steady and the 5:2 way of eating is easy for me. Oh and the additional plus is that I’ve gone from being pre diabetic to being well within the normal blood sugar range.

I think that the 5:2 diet is the best thing since sliced bread (although siced bread is something I avoid these days).
I’ve been on the diet since August and have lost nearly 10kg where nothing else had worked before. I was just piling on the weight and am on 100mcg of thyroxine a day.
I haven’t changed my lifestyle much, although I’m more aware of what I eat, but I’m strict with myself on fast days.
I normally have 100g of smoked salmon for breakfast on a fast day with a cup of tea with milk. For the rest of the day I drink water and herbal teas and have a small meal in the evening that brings the total calories to 500. One thing I currently like are the ramen noodles (small pack about 18p in Lidl or Aldi). I throw away the sachet and just add curry powder to the water and maybe a spring onion. When the water boils, I add the noodles and shortly after 1 egg. I let this boil for a minute or two and then ladle the lot into a large soup bowl. I then have a bowl full of soup with the noodles and the egg in it. This is really filling and feels like I’ve had a substantial meal. – Just my thing, but maybe somebody else on here likes it too.

Just to share this with you:

Today, I broke through the 10kg!
I’ve hypothyroid on 100mcg of thyroxine a day and I never thought anything would help me to lose weight after I’d gained so much weight over the last 10 years or so.
Since 4th August (3 months) I’ve lost 10kg! And this is without going to the gym or exercising like mad. I walk my dogs for 30 – 45 minutes twice a day and sometimes once a day and sit at my desk as I work from home. And it still works! 🙂
Michael Mosley, you are my hero! Without this programme, I would’ve given up!

Honey, Congratulations on your weight loss! We all truly have to figure out what works for US when it comes to losing weight when we have these thyroid issues. Out of the blue, about 10 years ago, my gynecologist doctor had the lab do blood work to check my thyroid numbers. I felt my regular energetic self all the time so there were no symptoms for me at all. The doctor told me I had the worst numbers she had ever seen and wondered how I was even able drag myself out of bed each day, much less function normally. The only thing I could think of was all the excess sugar and carbs (that turn into sugar) in my body were keeping my energy going all that time. Again, everybody’s body reacts differently when it comes to our thyroid issues. I’m so sorry you have had the struggles you have had getting just the right dosage for your thyroid. My doctor recently increased mine to 100 mg. I have felt fine no matter what the dose has been and just take my pill every night before I go to bed. Weight loss has been the struggle for me. I lost weight doing a very low sugar/low carb plan, but then went back to my old ways. I lost 5 pounds on my own (started Feb. 6, 2017) and then started doing FD on Feb. 22nd (5:2) but decided to switch it to ADF (alternate day fasting) and today have lost a total of 7 1/2 pounds. Hope to lose another 20. My good results are due to drinking more water. I drink 48 oz. a day and work out 20 minutes on my Gazelle (like cross country skiing off the ground). I actually prefer my 500 calories days over NFD because I don’t have to think about food so much! Again, congratulations on your weight loss…you’ve got this!! Maureen

Hi everyone – I am 42 and have had hashimotos now for 14 years and I’m currently taking 150mg thyroxine.
My weight is at 105kg which is my heaviest and I went to see a doctor (not my regular doctor) last Friday about the prospect of bariatric surgery. He recommended the 5:2 diet as the best option for me, which I found surprising as I had thought it a fad diet, and I’ve now started with my first fast day yesterday.
I made a filling Mexican bean soup at 170 cal per serve and have divided it into 4 portions for my two fast days. I found it quite easy to do the fast day, but felt very anxious the whole time thinking I would start to become overwhelmed with hunger: it didn’t happen 😄
I’m cautiously optimistic at this stage and my doctor wants to monitor my progress in 4 weeks, so I’m keeping the faith and reading your inspiring success stories is exciting and motivational. So thank you ❤

Hi. I am going to kick start 5:2 again this week. Had a terrible 6 months with major life changes but now need to get my life back on track.
My husband walked out in February after 26 years, he had been having an affair with a friend for 2 months right under my nose and I did not see it.
The silver lining for me was losing 8kgs. Also my bloods showed a great improvement, I think it was due to my stress levels reducing. Read anything and they say stress us the worst thing for Hashi.
So now I can see my goal of getting in a size 10(UK) jeans becoming a reality. Just 10kgs more to go. So I am back on 5:2 to do it.
I have a new job, new outlook on life, lots of new friends, still got my house and my 2 teenage boys and lots of male attention. Divorce papers are going in this week. So with my 50th birthday just 4 months away I have a new target.
I tell myself EVERY day I can do this. You need a goal, so set one today.

Today is my first fast day – ever. I’ve been up for an hour. I’ll start with green tea and will eventually do some light cardio. Usually, I eat no carbs anyway.

I have Hash and reducing its effects IS one of the reasons that I’m doing this. Is it realistic to expect that this diet will help reverse Hash? I’m somewhat discouraged to hear everyone talk about it taking at leat 6 weeks to show progress. Other people have talked about showing progress in the first week. What gives?

The whole point of the diet is to slow age-related medical issues. Else, why do it?

Hi I am new here as I only started 5:2 lifestyle diet on Monday. I have already lost 4 lbs and ate normally on the other days. I also have hypothyroidism which was only diagnosed in February this year with TSH of 76! I had not been feeling well for years!!! I am on Levothyroxine and so far I have noticed the fasting days reduce my appetite on the other days. I am an emotional eater/constant craver. I walk dogs daily at a brisk pace and garden but am going to add HIT exercise in the mix. I have already noticed a reduction in joint pain. So very happy 😊

Hi Pam 😄

I’m 3 months in now and have lost 6kg. I love this way of living as I only need short bursts of motivation!
I do experience low energy on my fast days as well as low temperature, but I honestly feel more even tempered on those days too compared to the hyper feeling that I have on my nfd’s.
How are you faring? Is this working for you?